The Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District, as the lead public agency, will hold public hearings at 3:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m., Wednesday, March 22, 2006, to accept comments on the Draft Initial Study/NegativeDeclaration (IS/ND) for bus service changes in North Alameda and West Contra Costa Counties, including the consideration of impacts associated with the adoption of a Fleet Composition Plan that proposed the replacement of gasoline vans with 30-foot diesel buses.

The hearings will be held at the AC Transit General Offices located at 1600 Franklin Street, Oakland, CA. The public comment period for the Draft Initial Study/Negative Declaration runs from February 20, 2006 through March 22, 2006. During this period, you may send us your comments online.

Background
In early 2003 the Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District (AC Transit) adopted changes to the local bus service network in North Alameda and West Contra counties through the phased implementation of a Service Deployment Plan (SDP), initially approved in mid-2002. The adopted service changes were implemented in June 2003, and include improvements to existing service within northern Alameda County (within the cities of Berkeley and Albany), and a restructuring of the route network in West Contra Costa County (within the cities of San Pablo, Richmond and El Cerrito).

During this period, AC Transit also phased out its existing fleet of gasoline-powered vans at the same time and replaced them with 30-foot diesel buses, pursuant to a Fleet Composition Plan (FCP) adopted in 2002. A legal challenge to the environmental review for the SDP resulted in a court order requiring that a new initial study be completed for implementation of the SDP in North Alameda County/West Contra Costa County, and that the new initial study address the impacts of replacing gasoline vans with buses as provided by the adopted Fleet Composition Plan (FCP).

Documents
Table of Contents and Chapters 1, 3, 4 (Introduction, Environmental Checklist, and References Cited)
This Initial Study assesses the environmental impacts of the Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District (AC Transit) proposed service changes in North Alameda Phase of the SDP, the West County Service Plan (WCSP), and the van replacement in the FCP as required by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) (California Public Resources Code [PRC] 21000 et seq.) the State CEQA Guidelines (14 California Code of Regulations [CCR] 15000 et seq.

Chapter 2 (Project Description) 3.39 MB
The changes resulting from the North Alameda portion of the SDP, the changes proposed under the WCSP and the elimination of gasoline-powered vans are the subject of this environmental review and together comprise the projects reviewed in this Initial Study

Figure 2-1 6.95 MB
Map Phase II of the Service Deployment Plan for North Alameda and Western Contra Costa County, 2003

Chapter 2 (Project Description above) also includes the following Figures: